Lexi Mizer & Hayden Peters
March 2, 2024 | Osage House in Cave Springs | The Villar Photo Co.
Lexi and Hayden met in 2009 during their freshman year in Fayetteville in the courtyard between their dorms. For the next almost 10 years they remained friends but grew in different directions.
In 2017, Lexi’s dad unexpectedly passed away, and that fall her friends and family hosted a memorial tailgate for her dad. When it was time for a group photo, Lexi’s uncle asked someone at a neighboring tailgate to work the camera. That person was Hayden. The next year, Lexi invited him back to the memorial tailgate, and the rest was history. They dated long-distance until 2020 when they moved in together during COVID.
Hayden says he knew she was the one the first day they met, and Lexi says it was all the little things he did for her that made her sure he was the one.
In December of 2022, Lexi and Hayden went out to dinner in Fayetteville and then went to Bentonville Square to look at lights. Lexi was reluctant to get out of the car becuase of the cold, but Hayden convinced her, and during the walk, he got down on one knee and asked Lexi to marry him.
Wedding Vendors We Love
Planning & design
Jessica Kersey with JLK Weddings
Venue
Osage House
Photography
The Villar Photo Co.
Florist
Arloh Flora
Wedding dress
Unveiled Bridal Collection
More Vendors
DJ: Ozark Mix; Cake: The Cake Occasion; Rentals: Eventology, Alchemy Event Rentals and Nüage Linens; HMUA: Kari Wein Hair & Makeup; Tan: Glow and Go by Ashley; Bar: Mint 2 Mix; HMUA: Kari Wein; Catering: Table Mesa; Officiant: Richard Hudson; Photo booth: NWA Photobooth; Staffing: Stom Event Staffing Solutions; Transportation: Pinnacle Car Services
Q&A
Q: Tell us about your color palette.
A: “We had a broad color palette, and I loved it!” Lexi said. “I’m a colors girl when it comes to decorations. I knew from the beginning that I wanted very colorful flowers. Then it came time to consider bridesmaids’ dresses, and one color or shades of one color just didn’t feel right. So we ended up with all different colors, textures and patterns.”
Q: What must-have of the wedding day did you know you just had to have?
Lexi: “Each of our vendors played a very important role in our day, and we are so thankful for their presence and work! I had a few “must-haves.” I knew there was zero chance I was making it through the planning phase without a wedding planner I loved, and I lucked out! I am not the most organized human being, and planning is not my strong suit. Jessica kept me on track and really made the process stress-free. Finding photographers who we were comfortable with and who would keep the photos vibrant was [also] very important, and we found the best couple for the task with Alex and Jessica Villar. … The flowers were the most important detail for me. I love flowers — I keep fresh flowers in my house and often even my friends’ houses thanks to my cut flower garden in our backyard. Jessica connected me with Mackenzie [from[ Arloh Flora, and she knocked it out of the park.”
Hayden: “From the beginning, I knew we had to have a good DJ. Nobody wants to go to a wedding with no dancing. DJ Rev was great. We’ve gotten so many compliments from our guests about him. He even let me pretend to DJ for a bit, which was a highlight.”
Q: What personalization did you love the most?
A: “My dad passed away unexpectedly in the summer of 2017,” Lexi said. “Something you never really plan for is how to go through big moments without your favorite people. There are lots of ways others choose to honor their loved ones who have passed, but it took me a while to land on a way that felt like it honored his spirit. We decided to welcome our guests with an alcoholic beverage pre-ceremony, just like he welcomed every adult that came into my parents’ house. … We had “David’s Bar” with Busch Lights and High Noons, “Wanna Beer?” on the front, and napkins with a special note about him for everyone to take with their drinks.”
Q: What was your vision for your wedding day?
A: “Before we got engaged, I can honestly say I had not spent a lot of time considering what a wedding would look like,” Lexi said. “I love color, flowers and being outside, so when the time came to plan, I leaned into that.”
Q: What inspired your wedding look?
Lexi: “I bought my dress from Unveiled Bridal in Little Rock, and I’d absolutely recommend it! They have a portal system that I was given access to before my appointment where I could view the dresses and veils they had in store and decide what I liked. When I showed up, the dresses and veils I’d marked were already pulled and ready for me to try on! They also had petit fours with my initials on them which was a sweet touch.”
Hayden: “ I bought my suit from Walker Brothers in Rogers, and they were super helpful. I didn’t really know what type of suit cut I would want, but I knew I wanted the classic black and white look, and I think it looked even better in contrast with the vibrancy of each bridesmaid’s colored dresses.”
Q: What was your favorite moment of the day?
A: “The whole day was honestly so great it’s hard to choose!” Lexi said. “So many of our family and friends came to celebrate and spend time with us. Two of our best friends brought our dog to the venue for a bit, and we were so glad he was able to be there! We had about 15 minutes of time to ourselves after the ceremony and before we entered the reception which let us really slow down and soak in the day. And we danced our tails off!”
Q: What advice do you have for couples planning their own weddings right now?
A: “It’s a day for y’all and ultimately should be a reflection of things that are important to you!” Lexi said. “If the planning feels stressful, put it down and pick it back up later. Hire a wedding planner if you can, because the day of is a whirlwind, and it was so much better getting to be present without having to worry about anything that went awry. We actually still do not know if anything went haywire on the day of because if it did, it was handled by someone else.”
Remembering Dad
Lexi’s dad passed away unexpectedly in 2017, so Lexi was looking for a way to include him in the wedding day. “Something you never really plan for is how to go through big moments without your favorite people,” Lexi said. In honor of her dad, they had pre-ceremony drinks, napkins with notes about him and a bar named “David’s Bar.”
